MEMORIAL  EXERCISES  IN  HONOR  OF  THE 
LATE  SENATOR  WILLIAM  B.  ALLISON 


ADDEESS 


OF 


HON.  CHAUNCEY  M 


OF  NEW  YORK 


IN  THE 


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i  i- 

.f''’ 


TJNITED  STATES  SENATE 


FEBRUARY  6,  1909 


'Tr 


ci:' 


32. 


81688—8290 


AV^SHTN&TOI^ 

1909 


LcJ* 


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A  D  D  K  E  S  S 

'  ;  OB’ 

HON.  CHAUNCEY  M.  DEPEW. 


V 


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We  raise  the  curtain  to-day  upon  the  most  momentous  events 
in  the  history  of  the  Republic.  The  life  of  our  nation  can  be 
broadly  divided  into  three  eras — its  creation,  its  preservation, 
and  its  development.  The  two  last  are  vividly  recalled  by  the 
career  of  Senator  William  B.  Allison.  He  entered  Congress 
in  1862  and  died  a  Senator  in  1908.  Never  during  recorded 
time  has  so  much  been  done  for  liberty,  humanity,  and  progress 
as  is  crowded  into  this  period.  The  whole  world  is  its  debtor, 
but  the  United  States  is  our  retrospect  at  this  hour. 

We  are  here  in  the  assembly  honored  by  his  membership 
and  the  hall  which  witnessed  his  activities  to  pay  tribute  to 
the  memory  of  one  of  the  most  influential  statesmen  of  these 
wonderful  years.  He  took  his  seat  in  the  House  of  Representa¬ 
tives  when  the  future  seemed  darkest.  A  solid  South  and 
divided  North,  disaster  to  the  Union  cause  in  the  field  and 
threatened  intervention  by  Europe,  our  credit  seriously  im¬ 
paired,  and  widespread  discontent  created  a  situation  full  of 
peril  for  the  preservation  of  the  Union.  The  continent  trembled 
under  the  tread  of  armies  greater  in  number  than  any  before 
marshaled  in  modern  times,  and  the  shock  of  battles  between 
brothers,  each  willing  to  die  for  his  idea,  had  desolated  every 
home  in  the  land.  Lincoln  voiced  the  first  and  greatest  neces¬ 
sity  to  save  the  Union  in  these  memorable  words : 

“  I  would  save  the  Union.  I  would  save  it  the  shortest  way 

under  the  Constitution.  If  there  be  those  who  would  not  save 

the  Union  unless  they  could  at  the  same  time  save  slavery,  I 

do  not  agree  with  them.  If  there  be  those  who  would  not  save 

the  Union  unless  they  could  at  the  same  time  destroy  slavery, 
81588—8290  3 


4 


I  do  not  agree  with  them.  My  paramount  object  In  this  strug¬ 
gle  is  to  save  the  Union,  and  is  not  either  to  save  or  to  destroy 
slavery.  If  I  could  save  the  Union  without  freeing  any  slaves, 
I  would  do  it,  and  if  I  could  save  it  by  freeing  all  the  slaves, 
I  would  do  it,  and  if  I  could  save  it  by  freeing  some  and  leav¬ 
ing  others  alone,  I  would  also  do  that.” 

He  stood  like  a  rock  against  abolitionists  and  radicals  who 
would  have  him  try  to  free  the  slaves  at  a  time  when  public 
sentiment  would  not  have  sustained  him  and  the  loss  of  Union 
supporters  would  have  been  fatal,  but  when  all  saw  it  was  nec¬ 
essary  to  save  the  Union  he  issued  the  emancipation  proclama¬ 
tion. 

The  success  of  the  national  cause  in  the  civil  war  placed  the 
Union  upon  firmer  foundation,  to  be  made  secure  for  all  time 
by  the  reconstruction  of  the  States  and  the  acceptance  by  those 
in  rebellion  of  their  equal  enjoyment  of  American  citizenship 
and  unity  in  loyalty  for  the  old  flag.  Our  Government  was 
then  the  least  in  power  and  consideration  among  nations.  But 
it  advanced  by  leaps  and  bounds  until  at  the  peace  of  Ports¬ 
mouth  between  Russia  and  Japan,  brought  about  by  President 
Roosevelt,  we  took  front  rank  and  won  the  right  and  recogni¬ 
tion  of  voice  and  vote  in  all  matters  affecting  the  welfare  of 
the  world. 

People  prosper  and  nations  advance  according  to  the  wisdom 
of  the  policies  and  measures  which  govern  them.  The  waste  of 
war  must  be  supplied  by  credit  and  money.  The  country  re¬ 
quired  revenue  bills  to  enlarge  its  income;  the  development  of 
its  resources  to  furnish  the  basis  for  increased  taxation,  and  a 
currency  system  in  harmony  with  great  industrial  nations.  It 
was  in  these  fields  that  Senator  Allison  did  most  wise,  benefi¬ 
cent,  and  far-reaching  work.  Happily  his  State  of  Iowa,  appre¬ 
ciating  his  value  to  the  country,  kept  him  continuously  in  the 
Senate.  The  record  and  rewards  of  his  career  were  due  to 
neither  luck  nor  chance.  He  won  and  held  place  and  increas¬ 
ing  power  by  ceaseless  industry,  rare  judgment,  tact  which 
amounted  to  genius,  and  the  graces  which  command  loyalty  and 

love.  In  the  House  he  was  on  the  Committee  on  Ways  and 
81588—8290 


5 


Means,  and  in  the  Senate  for  twenty-six  years  a  member  of  the 
Committee  on  Finance,  and  for  twenty-five  years  on  the  Com¬ 
mittee  on  Appropriations,  and  for  twenty  years  its  chairman. 
In  these  positions  he  had  always  before  him  problems  of  revenue 
and  expenditures  of  the  Government  upon  which  rest  its  stabil¬ 
ity,  credit,  and  prosperity.  They  appealed  to  him  because  of 
natural  gifts  for  these  questions,  and  by  study  and  experience 
he  acquired  such  mastery  over  them  that  he  became  an  ac¬ 
knowledged  authority  and  accepted  leader. 

He  believed  that  industrial  independence  and  internal  devel¬ 
opment,  increase  in  national  wealth,  and  a  higher  standard  of 
living  for  labor  than  ever  known,  could  be  had  only  by  a  pro¬ 
tective  tariff.  He  was  the  clearest  and  soundest  of  the  many 
able  men  who  have  contributed  to  the  legislation  or  literature 
of  this  question.  The  Morrill  bill,  enacted  in  1861,  had  per¬ 
formed  invaluable  service  in  replenishing  the  Treasury  during 
the  war  and  stimulating  production  and  manufactures  after. 
But  the  marvelous  growth  of  our  industries  in  both  volume  and 
variety  called  for  a  new  adaptation  to  present  needs.  While 
McKinley  was  the  unrivaled  expounder  and  advocate  of  the 
merits  of  the  men  sure  which  bore  his  name,  it  was  the  ripe 
learning  and  constructive  genius  of  Allison  which  framed  and 
perfected  the  la^v.  He  pointed  out  the  weakness  which  was 
afterwards  developed  in  the  Wilson  bill,  and  his  report  w'arned 
Congress  and  the  country  of  the  disastrous  results  which  fol¬ 
lowed  its  enactment.  The  universal  recognition  of  his  talents 
for  initiative  and  upbuilding  made  him  a  member  of  the  sub¬ 
committee  which  perfected  the  Dingley  bill,  which  has  been  in 
force  since  1897,  and  to  him  was  assigned  the  charge  of  its 
passage  in  the  Senate.  In  this  brief  review  is  seen  the  master 
mind  and  skilled  hand  in  legislation  for  the  tariff  during  the 
thirty-five  years  it  was  on  trial.  He  saw  his  policy  at  times 
crippled,  and  once  nearly  destroyed ;  but  with  faith  which  never 
wavered  and  courage  which  never  faltered  he  plead  with  the 
people  and  labored  with  their  representatives  until  the  fruition 
of  his  opinions  and  experience  had  ripened  into  law.  He  lived 

to  witness  for  ten  years  the  most  extraordinary  progress  and 
.  81588—8290 


^  • 


prosperity  ever  known  in  any  land — the  result,  as  he  believed, 
of  the  triumph  of  his  principles. 

But  the  Senator’s  activities  were  in  every  branch  of  revenue 
legislation.  He  prepared  in  1868  the  internal-revenue  law 
which,  with  few  modifications,  is  still  in  force,  and  with  the  least 
possible  burden  upon  the  people  yields  large  returns  to  the 
Treasury. 

Alexander  Hamilton  was  the  greatest  of  constructive  states¬ 
men.  With  little  of  precedent  for  guidance  he  formed  out  of 
chaos  a  model  system  of  constitutional  government  and  devised 
the  details  for  its  administration.  He  was  the  father  of  pro¬ 
tective  principles,  and  his  report  on  that  subject  has  been  the 
inspiration  of  all  subsequent  discussion  and  legislation.  His 
methods  and  rules  for  the  management  of  our  customs  re¬ 
mained  unchanged  for  a  century.  Primitive  conditions  in  the 
importation  of  foreign  goods  had  grown  and  expanded  until  our 
commerce  had  so  far  outgrown  the  regulations  which  had  con¬ 
trolled  it  for  a  hundred  years  that  modifications  adapted  to 
modern  situations  were  necessary.  The  work  had  been  under¬ 
taken  many  times  and  failed,  and  was  finally  placed  in  the 
hands  of  Senator  Allison.  After  two  years  of  patient  effort  he 
succeeded  in  enacting  a  law  wholly  prepared  by  himself  which, 
without  change,  has  been  the  guide  of  our  customs-revenue 
service  from  1890  until  today. 

Senator  Allison  was  a  disciple  of  Hamilton.  He  revered  his 
memory  and  was  a  profound  student  of  his  works.  At  a  time 
when  the  people  were  wildly  following  the  ignis  fatuus  of  vis¬ 
ionary  finance,  Allison  kept  his  faith  in  sound  economic  princi¬ 
ples.  He  early  saw  that  material  development  and  progress 
were  temporary  and  delusive  unless  based  upon  a  stable  and 
unfluctuating  standard  of  value.  We  came  out  of  the  ci^dl  war 
with  our  currency  upon  foundations  as  insecure  as  the  earth¬ 
quake  soil  of  Messina,  and  feverish  speculation  followed  by  dis¬ 
astrous  panics  was  our  perpetual  peril.  A  loyal  sentiment  that 
the  irredeemable  greenback  had  saved  the  Union  nurtured  faith 
in  fiat  money  and  the  virtues  of  the  paper  mill  in  maintaining 

values.  This  and  the  silver  heresy  threatened  political  oblivion 
81588—8290 


7 

to  all  who  opposed  them.  The  Senator’s  fight  for  sound  money 
illustrated  the  practical  ability  of  his  statesmanship.  He  could 
bow  to  the  storm  and  not  be  bent.  He  saw  no  merit  in  so 
attempting  to  stem  the  tide  as  to  be  swept  into  outer  darkness 
and  lost  to  sight  and  memory.  He  preferred  to  go  with  and 
guide  it — the  most  difficult  of  tasks.  It  required  from  1865  to 
1875  before  the  people  could  be  educated  to  belief  in  a  specie 
basis.  That  decade  was  as  full  of  peril  to  our  industries  as  the 
civil  war  had  been  to  our  nationality.  The  resumption  act  was 
the  work  of  John  Sherman,  but  his  ablest  and  most  efficient 
associate  was  Senator  Allison. 

That  law  made  our  depreciated  currency  as  good  as  gold  in 
theory,  but  not  in  fact  The  enormous  output  of  silver  alarmed 
the  mining  industry  because  the  supply  was  exceeding  the  de¬ 
mand.  Besides  the  selfish  interests  of  the  mine  owners,  some  of 
the  best  minds  in  the  country  became  advocates  of  the  free  and 
unlimited  coinage  of  silver.  The  farmer  was  persuaded  it  would 
double  the  price  of  his  products  and  pay  off  his  mortgages ;  the 
debtor  that  it  would  reduce  the  amount  of  his  loans ;  the  work¬ 
man  that  it  would  double  his  wages,  and  by  the  mysterious 
alchemy  of  a  government  stamp,  its  purchasing  power  would 
not  diminish  with  its  falling  price.  Both  Houses  of  Congress 
were  captured  by  its  fallacies  and  popularity.  Popular  pas¬ 
sions  had  not  run  so  high  since  the  civil  war.  Wise  and  prudent 
men  saw  that  the  success  of  the  scheme  would  drive  out  gold,  put 
the  country  on  a  silver  basis,  and  after  a  wild  carnival  end  in 
bankruptcy.  Senator  Allison  saved  the  situation  by  securing 
the  assent  of  a  majority  for  a  limited  coinage  of  silver,  bought 
by  and  belonging  to  the  Government.  The  working  of  this  com¬ 
promise  demonstrated  the  folly  of  a  double  standard  and 
brought  the  people  to  see  that  except  the  opinion  of  the  world 
could  be  changed  we  must  come  to  gold.  In  hastening  that 
event  our  friend  performed  invaluable  and  lasting  service.  The 
successful  legislator  must  adjust  the  bill  he  proposes  or  has  in 
charge  to  the  diverse  views  of  his  colleagues  without  impair¬ 
ing  its  essential  object.  He  yields,  harmonizes,  and  conciliates, 
but  gets  in  the  main  what  he  wants  at  the  time  or  gains  a  step 

for  further  advance  when  the  majority  are  brought  to  his  view. 

81588—8290 


»  • 


8 


Senator  Allison  was  past  master  of  that  art.  He  knew  the 
Senate.  Its  capricious  moods  were  his  opportunity.  His  pa¬ 
tience  was  never  exhausted,  the  serenity  of  his  temper  never 
ruffled.  He  could  grant  to  an  adversary  an  amendment  with 
such  grace  and  deference  to  superior  judgment  that  the  flattered 
enemy  accepted  a  few  suggestions  from  the  master  as  a  tribute 
to  his  talents.  The  post-mortem  revealed  his  mistake. 

As  in  the  gold  standard,  so  whenever  a  principle  was  involved, 
the  Senator’s  mind  was  clear  from  the  beginning;  but  it  re¬ 
quired,  step  by  step,  twenty  years  before  the  idea  captured  the 
country.  The  strongest  criticism  of  his  career  was  his  willing¬ 
ness  to  compromise;  but  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States 
was  a  compromise  between  the  large  and  smaller  States.  The 
Missouri  Compromise  of  Henry  Clay  in  1820  was  the  salvation 
of  the  Union — secession  then  would  have  succeeded ;  but'  forty 
years  devoted  to  instilling  into  youth  love  for  the  Nation  and 
the  flag,  and  the  growth  in  population  and  resources  of  the  free 
States  welded  the  Union  beyond  the  possibility  of  disruption. 

The  country  reunited  in  faith  and  loyalty,  the  industrial  and 
financial  systems  which  had  commanded  his  unequaled  talents 
for  a  third  of  a  century  triumphantly  established  and  working 
out  the  beneficent  results  of  prosperity,  production,  and  happi¬ 
ness  upon  which  he  had  based  faith  and  prophecy,  the  old  states¬ 
man  might  have  been  content. 

Nations,  like  individuals,  “  pass  this  way  but  once.”  Golden 
opportunities  at  the  milestones  are  lost  or  won.  The  triumphs 
of  one  generation  make  trouble  for  the  next.  Progress  and 
development  create  new  issues  and  statesmen  confront  fresh 
problems  with  every  advance.  Railroad  mileage  had  increased 
with  the  growth  of  population  and  extension  of  settlements. 
These  lines  are  the  arteries  of  commerce  and  had  been  consoli¬ 
dated  into  great  systems.  Evils  existed  in  some  of  them  which 
angered  the  people  against  them  all.  Government  ownership  or 
government  control  were  leading  issues.  The  President  and  his 
advisers  prepared  a  large  scheme  of  government  control.  It 
was  threatened,  on  the  one  hand,  by  conservative  forces  which 

fight  all  change  in  existing  conditions,  and  radical  reformers 
81588—8290 


9 


who  would  put  on  the  measure  drastic  amendments  so  far- 
reaching  and  confiscatory  as  to  involve  years  of  litigation  and 
invite  an  adverse  decision  from  the  Supreme  Court.  The 
veteran  victor  of  a  hundred  legislative  battlefields  was  called 
into  council.  The  suggestions  of  Senator  Allison  perfected 
and  passed  the  rate  bill.  It  has  stood  the  test  of  the  courts.  It 
has  largely  eliminated  the  evils  of  railway  management,  and 
the  people  and  investors  recognize  its  wisdom. 

Senator  Allison  was  never  spectacular.  He  was  modest  and 
retiring  to  a  degree.  Many  of  his  colleagues  filled  large  space 
with  their  speeches  in  the  Congressional  Record,  while  his 
monument  was  in  the  statute  books.  Because  of  the  radicalism 
of  their  proposals,  or  their  eloquence  in  debate,  or  their  manu¬ 
facture  ^  epigrams,  others  had  headlines  and  columns  in  the 
press,  while  this  tireless  and  unheralded  architect  of  the  public 
welfare  was  standing  guard  over  the  Treasury  or  making  laws 
which  marked  epochs  in  our  history. 

He  rarely  missed  a  vote.  When  the  bell  rang  for  a  roll  call, 
coming  from  his  constant  labor  in  the  room  of  the  Committee 
on  Appropriations,  he  was  among  the  first  to  enter  the  Senate. 
His  name  was  at  the  top  of  the  list.  He  never  waited  to  find 
out  how  the  question  was  going,  but  answered  promptly,  and 
that  answer  often  decided  the  fate  of  the  measure.  He  had  the 
courage  of  his  convictions  and  not  of  a  majority  behind  him. 

He  represented  an  agricultural  State  whose  people  often 
differed  with  him  on  economic  and  financial  questions.  But 
a  singularly  broad-minded  and  intelligent  constituency  recog¬ 
nized  his  honesty,  character,  and  greatness,  and  loyally  returned 
him  again  and  again  to  the  seat  in  which  he  shed  such  luster 
upon  Iowa.  His  closing  hours  were  passed  in  the  supreme 
happiness  that  after  thirty-five  years  of  continuous  service  in 
the  Senate  and  after  passing  the  limit  of  fourscore  the  people 
had  commissioned  him  for  another  term. 

If,  as  I  believe,  those  who  meet  in  the  activities  of  this  life 

are  reunited  hereafter,  it  was  a  wonderful  band  of  immortals 

who  greeted  Allison.  President  Lincoln  had  consulted  him  on 

measures  for  raising  money  to  carry  on  the  war;  Johnson  on 
81588—8200 


10 


constitutional  amendments,  civil  rights,  and  general  amnesty; 
Grant  on  the  reconstruction  of  the  States,  finance,  and  a  gov¬ 
ernment  for  the  District  of  Columbia,  still  working  satisfactorily 
and  wholly  devised  by  Allison  ;  Hayes  on  the  resumption  of 
specie  payments;  Arthur  on  the  policy  of  a  tariff  commission; 
Harrison  on  the  McKinley  tariff  legislation  and  closer  relations 
between  the  republics  of  the  Western  Hemisphere  by  a  Pan- 
American  Congress;  Cleveland  on  the  repeal  of  the  purchase 
clause  of  the  Sherman  silver  law ;  and  McKinley  on  tariff,  cur¬ 
rency,  the  gold  standard,  and  grave  questions  arising  out  of 
the  acquisition  and  government  of  Porto  Rico  and  the  Philip¬ 
pines — all  of  them  era-making  measures.  Three  of  these  Presi¬ 
dents  had  urgently  invited  him  to  join  their  cabinets,  and  twice 
the  Presidency  had  been  almost  within  his  grasp.  When  he 
first  obtained  the  floor  in  Congress  he  addressed  Speaker 
Schuyler  Colfax,  and  when  he  spoke  last,  forty-five  years  after¬ 
wards,  Vice-President  Fairbanks  in  the  chair  recognized  the 
Senator  from  Iowa.  Seward,  Chase,  and  Stanton,  John  Sher¬ 
man,  James  G.  Blaine,  and  Thaddeus  Stevens  were  his  asso¬ 
ciates  and  intimates.  When  the  future  historian  writes  the 
story  of  this  remarkable  period  and  portrays  the  actors  in  that 
great  national  drama  who  contributed  to  its  distinction,  he 
will  place  among  the  few  in  the  front  rank  the  name  of 

William  B.  Allison. 

81588—8290 


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